The Gas Station

The rolled-back windows vibe isn’t working anymore as the rain pounds the car. Percy Davis’s mind begins to skew into an endless blur as the rain and the road converge. He brushes his hair back and takes a deep breath. “Hi my name is Percy Davis and I work for Minor Sports Management, do you have a minute to talk about.”  No, more bravado he thinks.  “My name is Percy Davis and I work for the amazing Minor Sports Management, we believe that we can…”

What, can what? What can we do better? Percy rubs his head together and catches the notification from his phone. He takes the phone off the dashboard. The lane assist guides the wheel along while he sets the cruise control. It’s a text from Selena,

“Hey, can we talk?” texts Selena. With a sigh, he clicks the phone shut and props it back on the dashboard. 

Percy watched Selena his girlfriend walk the concrete steps towards her 2003 Buick stuffing the last of her things in the front seat. It was a box filled with pictures and photos of them that were never put up. She said she was going to make a whole wall of them. They all ride shotgun as she takes off back to Colorado. Sharing the same bathroom is different from sharing popcorn at the movies. Now she wants to talk. What could she want to talk about? She could never stand my job, and never took it seriously, Whatever I’ll call her when I get there, Percy thinks.

The soft voice of Brent Fayiaz cascaded throughout the car. The song comes to an end when a sudden thump takes Percy out of the groove. He pulls over to the side of the road to inspect the damage. A thick piece of glass from what looks like a beer bottle lodged itself into the front left tire. He goes to the trunk and lifts it up. He moves two black garbage bags containing shirts and shorts that he custom-made with the Minor Sports Management logo on the left breast and bottom right knee of the shirt and shorts respectively. He couldn’t resist the buy 50 get 50 half off deal mix and match even though the logo wasn’t official yet. He throws the bags in the backseat and lifts the carpet covering from underneath grabbing the jack, wrench, and the tire. Percy raises the car up, and while he unscrews the bolts a cracking sound almost like a giant log being snapped in half behind him. Percy turns around quickly, but only finds darkness, the lights from the car and his phone flashlight are the only things that separate him from the dark. A few minutes later he hears the sound again, this time from the other side of the road. Percy peeks his head up over the car, but again nothing. He puts a little more effort into turning the bulky screws. Perspiring hands beginning to cramp up. He wipes his hands on his shirt and grips the jack again.

Back on the road again. The light began to take form along the horizon. Right before Percy tries to change the song the car lights catch a moving figure on the side of the road. As he came closer he made out a girl, or maybe a small woman. He brings his car to a halt right beside her.

“Hey, are you alright?” He asked.

No reply as she looks off in the distance from where he came from, keeping the same pace.

“Do you need a ride?” 

Again no reply. Percy looks around him, still the same darkness. The girl stops and turns and looks at him for a moment then her eyes quickly dart back upon the distance from which she came. Percy can’t make up much of what she was wearing. Only able to see a white battered tank top with jean shorts.She turns towards him. A black Jansport backpack strapped to her back.

“Um yes, I need a ride.” She says as she looks back again. She reaches for the door and tugs on it twice.

“Ope, sorry about that, there you go,” Percy says as he clicks the unlock button on the side of the door.

“Jansport, nice. I used to have one in high school. Everyone had one back then.” Percy says. Small talk was a hit and a miss. “Well um, where are you headed?”

Silence and awkwardness fill the car. Her thin black hair in a mess with strands doing a modest job of covering her face. Percy puts the car in drive and trudges along for a minute or two until she breaks the silence.

“I ran away, my parents may or may not be looking for me, to be honest, I don’t know.”

Out in the middle of nowhere though?

“Is there anyone you want to call besides your parents. Aunt or uncle.” Percy says as he notices her dirt crusted fingers and the dirt caked along the hairs of her arm.

“No not really, I have a cousin though I would like to call.” The girl says.

He reaches for his phone and gives it to her. A few button presses later and she is already on the phone.

She kept talking for a few minutes never saying more than yes, no, and sure. She put the phone back onto the dashboard and went back to staring out of the passenger side window. Her arms crossed and her head leaning on the window.

“You know I never got your name, my name is Percy,” he says as he extends his right hand. Another long pause as he retracts his hand, then the girl replies,

“Angela.” 

“So what did your cousin say, Angela?”

‘That my parents haven’t even noticed I have been gone. Typical.” She brushed her hair to the side and a slight roll of her eyes.

“I'm sorry about that. So um where do you need me to take you?”

“My cousin said she can pick me up at the next gas station.”

“That's not for another like 30 miles,” Percy says.

“Is that a problem?” She snaps back.

“No, not it all? If you don’t mind me asking where were you—-”

“I do mind actually, maybe I just like walking, huh.” She says as she readjusts the seat a little and leans her head back on the window. 

20 minutes pass by as the road remains the same, yellow spots lined up in the middle passing by. The cloudy sky forewarns rain in the coming hour.

“Don't don’t play with her don’t be dishonest….” Percy starts tapping along. He looks over to his adolescent passenger. She doesn’t seem like the typical stuck-up teen in her rebel phase. But she does seem like the type to not take authority well. Whatever it is he just can’t peg her. She leans her head against the window watching rain pellets race along the car.

Lights come up on the right as the windshield wipers try to move the rain away. Percy turns the wheel to the right as he takes the exit. The flickering lights of the neon sign exclaiming, Gators Gas with two exclamation points because one is not enough but three is a little too much. He pulls into the two white lines and puts it in park in front of an empty ice cooler.

“She says she is about 10 minutes out.” Angela says the door opens and she goes and heads inside, although Percy doesn’t see any lights. She starts to realize when she pulls the smooth tainted handle, a few rattles but nothing more. She heads back to the car.

“It's locked.” 

So they wait until her aunt arrives. five minutes turns into 15. Then Angela mentions she is running a little late. Percy acknowledges it as he checks his phone. A few more text messages from Emma. 

“Listen, I got to make a call, I'll be right back.” Percy says. She nods back as the open door sign begins to emulate from the dashboard. He steps onto the concrete sidewalk and puts the phone to his ear. A few rings then her voice crackling through the phone going in and out. “We can sit down and go through whatever it is we need to go through ok?” Percy answers.

“What do you mean whatever it is? You can’t even tell me what it is, can you?” Emma remarks.

Percy takes in the damp air and lets it out as he glances back at the car. His temple begins to tighten as he uses his free hand to massage it. The rain begins to pick up. He moves towards the car, peering through the window, The seat is empty same with the backseat. “Listen, I have to call you back, something came up. Talk to you later” Percy says as he nervously hangs up. He looks out towards the pump station. Wet spots from car and gas oil splotched around the cracked concrete. Then he sees a dumpster on his far left, a couple of black bags on the side of it being pelted by the rain, one of them tipped over and opened up as day-old donuts sprawled out along the concrete. As he looks behind the trash a screeching sound bellows out. He notices the back gate swaying back and forth at a steady pace. Percy pulls out the flashlight on his phone as the light from the station ends its domain right before the gate. He grabs the slippery barbed gate, silencing it. He pushes it past him as he makes his way to the back. He pauses for a second. Flashlight not entirely up in front of him but not facing the floor either. Why am I searching for this girl? She probably ran off like she did with her parents. If that's what she even did. She is probably some junkie. He takes another shot of the damp air. “Angela,” he shouts. 

What felt like only seconds Percy hears an ear piercing scream coming from the front of the gas station. His back foot hits the pavement as He pivots swinging the gate with his shoulder barreling toward the sound.

It's Angela on the curb, hands cupping her face while grabbing her hair. The bellowing sounds echoing in Percy’s mind as he stops right beside her.. 

“Hey, Hey!” no response as he grabs both her shoulders. She starts moving her head back and forth, her scream rising in decibels, with hands still to her face. Percy immediately  releases his hands from her shoulders and brings them to his ears. 

Then all of sudden she stops. Her face now in between her thighs as she cocoons herself with her hands holding her knees. Percy takes a look at his keys now in his hands. Blood covering his keys. That queasy feeling making its way to his throat. He looks at her then back at his car.

“Hey, she still isn’t here yet, maybe 5 more minutes, I promise she will get here.” The girl says as she removes her hands and sits straight up. Her eyes are now fixed upon Percy.

“What the hell.” he says, trying to gather himself to form a response. “I think. Hold on. What is this?” Percy looks around expecting some more people, maybe her aunt to come out. Some intricate punchline he found himself in.

“What are you talking about?” Replies Angela.

“We are not about to act like what happened. Didn’t happen. I didn’t imagine it! Percy says.

A bewildered look forms along her dark brown eyebrows. “I don’t know what you're on dude. I am going to go back in the car. It's getting cold out here.” She shakes it off and starts heading towards the car. Percy reaches for her shoulder tugging her back.

“Dude, what the hell?” She quickly knocks his hand away.

“What the hell is right! You need to tell me what the hell is going on!” Percy exclaims as he points towards the sidewalk spot where she sat. “If you think this is some joke or something I can assure you it is far from amusing!” 

“What you're talking about.” She begins to walk back to the car.

 “You were tripping the hell out, screaming bloody murder,” Percy says.

“Dude you really are on something, I want whatever you got.” She scoffs.

“No seriously, you disappeared from the car, I go around back looking for you then find you here screaming your head off like you were possessed or something.”

She still wears that same confused look on her face. Percy massages his temples trying to compute this whole ordeal.

“I got out of the car because I wanted to chill on the sidewalk, then I saw you come from the otherside of the gas station dude, that's it. I don’t know where you're getting this possessive crap from.” She reaches for the door handle. Percy reaches for his keys and presses down on the lock button.

“Really, this is what we're doing.” She sighs. “Dude it's probably from whatever you smoked. You look like you smoke, now let me in the car.” she tugs on the handle some more.

“I don’t smoke. And your not going anywhere until either your aunt comes or you tell me the truth.” Percy says firmly. His hand gripping the keys.

Angela takes a breath,  “Fine I guess I will go back to the sidewalk and wait for my aunt there.”

The light from the pump station starts to flicker uncontrollably. The dying of the only light. Neither pay no mind to it as Percy puts his keys back into his pocket. Then with its last flicker, like a light switch they are now succumbed to the dark.

After a few moments, Percy calls out to the girl, “Hey, Hey Angela!” Percy pulls out his phone. Low battery warning 8% props up on his phone. He taps the flashlight icon, but misses, taps it again with no response. His heart begins to sink a little. Taps again then after a second delay the light cuts through the blackness. He swings it around him. Anglea was not by the car and as he brought the light to the sidewalk where she was sitting, only to find it unoccupied. He turns and shines the light on the car. That's it, time to go, should have gone beforehand. Before his free hand reaches the door lever, the flashlight goes out. 5% battery a low battery warning pops up onto the screen. He messes around the handle until he finds it. He jerks it a few times before realizing that its still locked from before. As he unlocks the car a shrill sound is heard from a short distance. Almost in rhythm like a heartbeat.

He swings the door shut behind him. Pushes the start button as the car roars to life. But the sound getting closer pierced through the confines of the car. As Percy pulls out, there in front of the hood of the car is a disfigured being. Long fingernails and dirt caked hair with a blue blouse. No it can’t be! It's the girl! Her eyes now rolled to the back of her head. Veins a dark blue pulsing throughout her body. The car lights blanketing her entire body. She is in a slight crouch with her back towards him but her head turned a full 180 degrees facing him. The girl or what was the girl’s shoulders protruding out wide like football pads. Her arms dangling out in front of her. Her gaping mouth breathing hollows out. Her breaths now come down an octave at a much slower pace. Percy white knuckles the steering wheel, unable to move. Eyes are fixated on what's before him. The tingling sensation makes its way all throughout his body right down to his toes that rest softly on the brake. Percy’s foot releases from the brake slowly, then moving his foot unto the accelerator. Not daring to take his eyes off her. 

A blood curdling scream echoes throughout the gas station, causing Percy to grab for his ears with both hands instinctively as the car continues backward at an accelerated pace, foot pressed firmly on the pedal. The car slams into one of the pumps. The windows shaking violently begin to crack and then all at once like sand being thrown into the air, poof. Percy’s hands doing as much as they can against the deafening noise.

Then silence pervades the air. Percy removes his hands as blood trickles down his forearms. The back of his hands with a few cuts from the shards. Then he looks up. She is still standing there, but as soon as he locks eyes with her she begins to make her way towards him. Percy hears a small voice coming from the girl although imperceptible from just below her breath. Percy puts the car in drive and beats down on the accelerator but it stays in place. He hears the engine revving up with each push. So he isn’t deaf, that's good. Percy opens the door and sprawls out onto the concrete. He feels his hands wet and his body wet from the floor, the rain had stopped a while ago, and besides he was under the roof. He looks down and becomes aware of the gas leaking from a punctured hole in the pump. As she gets closer he can now audibly hear the words coming from her mouth. 

“Le…t meeee.” Then a slight pause, “beeeee.” Over and over again. Pain begins to form in between his shoulder blades As he tries to get up. She stops just a few feet from him. She begins to raise one of her hands, veins pumping irregularly, bulging through her gray skin. Her pointer finger extends itself until it stops right before Percy's forehead. At the last line, 

“beeeeee”. She moves the final inch. Immediately the pain from his back,ears, hands were all gone. He gets up and pricks the glass from his hands. No blood. Then as if he was in a boiler room, he begins to heat up, From the inside. He looks at his hands, the veins begin to beat to the accelerated beat of his heart. His shoulders begin to cause him some discomfort, like they're not in the right place so presses on them and presses on them with the palm of his hands. more like an itch on your back. Then his neck becomes stiff. Percy massages it as he grips it and applies increasing pressure. It helped a little but the feeling won’t go away. Why won’t it go away? It starts to get hotter. Starting from his toes that tried so hard to drive away all the way up into the head area, then resting now solely in the brain. A lurch from left to right as he tries to stretch his neck.

Percy's head now looks like someone pounded it with a sledgehammer. Make it go away! Percy feels his vocal cords shot to hell. His arms go numb. He tries to bring his arm up, but to no avail.  Wait Where was I at? Oh wait, the car? The girl? He looks around then sees his car a few feet away from him. Finding now that the movements of walking require a more nuanced approach. He settles on a sort of side to side motion. As he reaches for his door handle and notices his skin, is not its usual light brown. A grayish tint to it as the transformation continues. It’s not going away. It will never go away! The restless pounding keeps coming as he just stands there. The heat now cascaded all throughout his body. Percy sways side to side breathing becoming more and more heavy. Let me go, let me be! I can’t I can…… His eyes begin to move upward into total blackness.